Sunday, September 4, 2011

This one's for all of you back home in Australia ... where it's currently the tail end of winter, and where you may be inclined to bake things in the oven. Comfort foods, involving root vegetables. 'Cause I sure ain't making this here in Phoenix ... where the daytime temperatures are hovering around 45C (115F) and the nighttimes are dipping down into the (brrrr) 30C's (90F's).
But I did make this just before we left Brisbane, when I had some veggies in my cupboard that weren't going to make it otherwise. It's an adaptation out of Mollie Katzen's Vegetable Heaven, if you're curious ... but it's like any handed-down scalloped veggie recipe, really. I used what I had on-hand - but seriously, you could substitute any host of veggies in here; add cheese; or use cream if those are the things you need to use up. Consider this your pre-holiday go-to. For everything.

2. In a large oven-proof pot, saute the onion in the butter over medium heat. When it's soft, remove the pot from heat and stir in the veggies, cornflour, salt, and vinegar (and cheese, if you're using it). Push them down, to form a relatively even top surface.

3. Pour the milk over and push the top layer of veggies down into the milk. Add more milk if you need to in order to get the top layer of veggies slightly covered in liquid.

4. Put a lid (or aluminium foil) over your pot, and bake for ~40 minutes. Then, remove the cover and bake another 10-15 minutes, until it's brown and crispy on the top.

5. After you take this out of the oven, let it cool a few minutes before you dish it out. It loves hitting the plate with a fresh green salad on its side.

The cost
If you use milk that's getting to its use-by date, or root veggies that are starting to get soft, or things you'll have to throw out because you're about to go on holiday ... this dish will be *very* cheap. Even so, an organic version of this is likely to cost you less than $1 per person.

Well, I'm off to the pool now ... more soon from the US of A!
Amanda xx